Monday, August 10, 2009

Digby Scallop Days

It was a beautiful sunny day yesterday and my Honey and I drove to Digby, Nova Scotia (about 2 1/2 hours from Halifax) for the annual Digby Scallop Days. And there were more things to do than just eat scallops. You can see the Queen & her Princesses encouraging the kids at the lobster crate run at the top. You could watch the kids in a scallop skipping contest. The winners of each age group wins a brand new bike courtesy of Nancy and Dean Kenley owners of The Fundy Restaurant. The Antique Car Show was fun, but we did miss the scallop shucking contest.

Oh well...the truth is...I really went there to eat scallops and do a story for foodtv.ca - I'll let you know when it's up. But here are a couple of highlights.That's Dean (who took time out of his busy day to talk with us ) with the largest scallop he's seen in the twenty four years he's been in the business. Like shrimp, scallops are sold by the count...how many to a pound. This would be a 6 count. The average count is 20 and an average serving size is half a pound. But enough stats for now...

We also got to watch Daniel cook some scallops up for us in one of the Fundy Restaurant kitchens. You'll have to wait for the Foodtv piece to see the video!But best of all...we got to eat! That's my Honey's plate of garlic butter seared scallops, delicious creamy coleslaw, crispy fries and some sauce for the scallops. Personally, I think they're just perfect on their own. There is nothing sweeter and richer in the world than a Digby scallop!Check out these beautiful broiled scallops wrapped in smokey bacon. The perfect meal to enjoy on the deck overlooking all the festivities. You can check out the view from the upper deck on this live webcam.

And just in case you can't make it to Digby (you've missed this year's festival but never the chance to eat some awesome scallops), I thought I'd share a couple of recipes of my own for you.

Boy that's one big scallop that Dean is holding, it's huge! Yummy scallops, I would have loved to go as well and take part in the experience. Of course the eating part would be the best one, these scallop dishes seem really delicious!